Tolman Gain Crucial Spa Knowledge With Euro GT4 Outing

Avon Tyres British GT Championship regulars Luke Davenport and David Pattison showed strong pace in the Competition 102 GT4 European Series at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.

The Tolman Motorsport pairing headed out to Belgian in their Ginetta G55 GT4 to gain vital experience of the iconic 4.4 mile circuit ahead of the British GT meeting there on July 11-12.

With new Hankook tyres to get their heads around and typical wet Spa weather to contend with, the official practice sessions provided a real challenge for the team, but they were able to find a competitive set-up to take into qualifying.

Their efforts paid off as Davenport secured third on the grid for the opening race, setting the fastest time in the tight and twisty middle sector to counteract a speed disadvantage in the faster sections of the track.

The former Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup race-winner started race one in wet and foggy conditions, quickly taking second place before challenging Duncan Huisman in his Chevrolet Camaro for the lead.

Davenport went on to assume the race lead prior to the mid-race pitstops, with Pattison emerging with the race lead intact. In his first race at Spa and only his second ever in wet conditions, Pattison improved his lap-times throughout the stint en-route to ninth at the finish.

The second race was a tougher affair meanwhile, with Pattison’s qualifying effort putting them fourteenth on the grid. The duo showed competitive pace once again though as they fought to twelfth at the finish to complete a productive weekend.

“The Euro GT round at Spa has been something we were all very keen to do from the start of the season,” said Davenport. “David [Pattison] has been on such a step learning curve this year and it made a lot of sense to complete some strong mileage at such a demanding track.

“Coming away from the weekend we are really excited about the British GT round there. We have done some good mileage in all weather conditions and the car clearly has the pace to win. Fingers crossed we can claw back some of the points we lost from the contact at Silverstone.”